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traceymlee's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
si0bhan's review
4.0
This is such a hard one to rate and review. A part of me wanted to give it just three stars but, in the end, I was not able to do such a thing. In general, I love Peter May’s work far too much to do that. Moreover, certain aspects of this book improved upon factors I disliked with the first. That being said, certain things I enjoyed with the first in the series vanished. Ergo, it’s a complicated one.
I’ll start by saying you should probably read Extraordinary People before reading The Critic. Whilst it is easy enough to follow – we’re given details relating back to the first one – quite a bit of understanding will be lost. So much happened in the first book, without reading it you will be lacking in the background information and unable to enjoy the overall story.
So, if you have gone back and picked up the first one – and you now want more – I will go on.
The Critic follows on with the intriguing premise from Extraordinary People, following Enzo Macleod as an earlier wager leaves the once forensic expert on a quest to solve notorious unsolved crimes of France. Onto the second of seven cases, we have a bit more fun this time around. After all, people are now aware of Macleod and his antic meaning people are less than willing to play his little game.
I now hear you asking what makes it such a mix of good and bad, something that is rather difficult to explain in the linear way I was hoping for.
Once again, Peter May is wonderful at setting the scene. The detail was on par with the first one – so a little bit too much at times – yet it seemed to work better in this book than it did the first. Perhaps it was simply that I had grown accustomed to it, or maybe it was merely more necessary. Either way, the scene is set in the usual Peter May way.
Fortunately, the details of the surroundings and the journey down memory lane were not overshadowing the story to the same degree this time around. We have more on the mystery-solving element. It is still far from the near perfect level we are given in his Lewis Trilogy, but it is a massive improvement on the first.
That being said, the wine details. Oh my gosh… over the top is an understatement. That is where I lost it with this one. I’m not a wine drinker. To me wine tastes like vinegar. I do not understand why so many people enjoy it. I have tried one kind of wine and it was enough to put me off for life. To make it worse, that one sip of wine was of French wine (don’t ask me for the kind as I cannot say, all I know is that my flatmate brought it over with her when she headed home for Christmas and let us all try it). So, as you can imagine, my one taste of French wine was enough to put me off it for life and this book is based upon the French wines. There is endless talk of taste testing. They can taste this, they can taste that, there is a hint of these things… For me, it wasn’t enjoyable. I forced my way through these parts. I had to silence my ‘but it all tastes of vinegar’ mental commentary on more than one occasion.
Still, if you’re a wine lover you may enjoy this. I merely go against the grain through being a wine hater.
I could rant about the wine for a while, though, so I’ll move on.
The mystery for this one was a better-paced one than the last. Moreover, we follow more characters this time around. Interesting characters from the first are fleshed out more as they work towards solving the mystery. To make it even better, the whodunit was not as blinding obvious as it was in the first book. We’re given plenty of traps to fall into again, and even if you don’t fall for them (as I managed not to this time), we’re still given plenty of questions to ask ourselves.
The ending is a nice preparation for what else is to come, too. A more satisfying ending than that in the first book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I disliked the first (there were a number of aspects I enjoyed more with the first), I merely found this one to have a more satisfying impact at the end – if only because it left me wanting to read on to the next one.
Overall, a nice addition to the series. The Enzo Files are still no Lewis Trilogy, but they’re decent enough reads for Peter May fans.
I’ll start by saying you should probably read Extraordinary People before reading The Critic. Whilst it is easy enough to follow – we’re given details relating back to the first one – quite a bit of understanding will be lost. So much happened in the first book, without reading it you will be lacking in the background information and unable to enjoy the overall story.
So, if you have gone back and picked up the first one – and you now want more – I will go on.
The Critic follows on with the intriguing premise from Extraordinary People, following Enzo Macleod as an earlier wager leaves the once forensic expert on a quest to solve notorious unsolved crimes of France. Onto the second of seven cases, we have a bit more fun this time around. After all, people are now aware of Macleod and his antic meaning people are less than willing to play his little game.
I now hear you asking what makes it such a mix of good and bad, something that is rather difficult to explain in the linear way I was hoping for.
Once again, Peter May is wonderful at setting the scene. The detail was on par with the first one – so a little bit too much at times – yet it seemed to work better in this book than it did the first. Perhaps it was simply that I had grown accustomed to it, or maybe it was merely more necessary. Either way, the scene is set in the usual Peter May way.
Fortunately, the details of the surroundings and the journey down memory lane were not overshadowing the story to the same degree this time around. We have more on the mystery-solving element. It is still far from the near perfect level we are given in his Lewis Trilogy, but it is a massive improvement on the first.
That being said, the wine details. Oh my gosh… over the top is an understatement. That is where I lost it with this one. I’m not a wine drinker. To me wine tastes like vinegar. I do not understand why so many people enjoy it. I have tried one kind of wine and it was enough to put me off for life. To make it worse, that one sip of wine was of French wine (don’t ask me for the kind as I cannot say, all I know is that my flatmate brought it over with her when she headed home for Christmas and let us all try it). So, as you can imagine, my one taste of French wine was enough to put me off it for life and this book is based upon the French wines. There is endless talk of taste testing. They can taste this, they can taste that, there is a hint of these things… For me, it wasn’t enjoyable. I forced my way through these parts. I had to silence my ‘but it all tastes of vinegar’ mental commentary on more than one occasion.
Still, if you’re a wine lover you may enjoy this. I merely go against the grain through being a wine hater.
I could rant about the wine for a while, though, so I’ll move on.
The mystery for this one was a better-paced one than the last. Moreover, we follow more characters this time around. Interesting characters from the first are fleshed out more as they work towards solving the mystery. To make it even better, the whodunit was not as blinding obvious as it was in the first book. We’re given plenty of traps to fall into again, and even if you don’t fall for them (as I managed not to this time), we’re still given plenty of questions to ask ourselves.
The ending is a nice preparation for what else is to come, too. A more satisfying ending than that in the first book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I disliked the first (there were a number of aspects I enjoyed more with the first), I merely found this one to have a more satisfying impact at the end – if only because it left me wanting to read on to the next one.
Overall, a nice addition to the series. The Enzo Files are still no Lewis Trilogy, but they’re decent enough reads for Peter May fans.
1of3bookgirls's review
4.0
Not a bad little mystery and as a bonus, I learned a lot about wine. A Scotsman living in France who is a forensic expert was a really unique take on the genre. I love "traveling" when I read mysteries, so I'm sure I will check out his other books.
zog_the_frog's review
2.0
I struggled my way through this book. Through the pretentious use of italicised French words (just to show that the author speaks French, I presume). Through the author's even more pretentious descriptions of the intricacies of the wine making process (I drink the stuff, I don't want to know how it's made). Through the tedious plot red herrings. Through the cliché'd language of the main character's sexual exploits (This is the 21st century, not the 19th). Why? I just wanted to FINISH IT. To be done with it, so I didn't have to read another Peter May book.
**Spoilers in the next paragraph**
Like the previous book, there were too many times when the Enzo just jumped to conclusions without any reasoned argument. The trip to America wearing a kilt was surely meant to be a joke, wasn't it? Is US airport security really that lax? With the amount of buckles on a kilt, he would have triggered the metal detectors and would have had to be patted down. Simple things like that let the book down in my opinion.
Like I said in my previous review of the Enzo series, the Lewis Trilogy was great. This was dire. Worse than Enzo 1. It was only just worth two stars.
We are left wondering who whacked Enzo. I wish it was me.
**Spoilers in the next paragraph**
Like the previous book, there were too many times when the Enzo just jumped to conclusions without any reasoned argument. The trip to America wearing a kilt was surely meant to be a joke, wasn't it? Is US airport security really that lax? With the amount of buckles on a kilt, he would have triggered the metal detectors and would have had to be patted down. Simple things like that let the book down in my opinion.
Like I said in my previous review of the Enzo series, the Lewis Trilogy was great. This was dire. Worse than Enzo 1. It was only just worth two stars.
We are left wondering who whacked Enzo. I wish it was me.
skinnypenguin's review
3.0
Lots of info about wine making. Enzo is looking into the disappearance of a noted wine critic and ends up having someone trying to kill him and others around him. Several other dead bodies are found. His daughter and boyfriend show up along with a young female student and the daughter of the dead critic and his on again/off again lover. The lives of all involved combine for a good mystery.
jw1949's review
Eventually bored with this one (DNF = did not finish). The story is confusing and I have no empathy at all with the main man - Enzo Macleod. It's a silly name, he's a touch arrogant and not a little misogynistic. I'm Scottish, know France very well and have little patience with this superficial nonsense. It is odd though 'cos I thoroughly enjoyed the Lewis trilogy, Entry Island and Coffin Road - all absolutely excellent and have recently read the first 2 of the China thrillers which are a much lighter, easier read but enjoyable none the less.
jamieforman's review
2.0
After the first Enzo book, I was disappointed by this one. There seemed to be an overly lecherous focus on Enzo's predilection for younger women, too much frippery in the sense of "product placement" (which seems to be something creeping in to more and more fiction - by which I mean "Enzo picked up his 8gb Apple iPhone with the super deluxe camera and x-ray spec app from Banzai for £3.99 on the 6 year contract in order to....." Blah blah blah), and the one whodunnit seems to have been created in the dying pages solely for that purpose.... Disappointing.
wizzard's review
4.0
Another excellent mystery. There is a deeper undercurrent running through the series which I hope will be resolved soon. Onwards to the next in the series.
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